Delhi is going to the polls on February 5. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is trying hard to fight anti-incumbency and retain power by “showcasing” Punjab, the only full-fledged State where it holds sway.
A battery of ministers, legislators, and AAP leaders, including Punjab’s Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, have been campaigning in Delhi over the last few weeks to project the Punjab government’s work, in the run up to the Assembly polls.
The AAP came to power in Punjab by winning 92 of the 117 Assembly seats in 2022. However, in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, out of the 13 parliamentary constituencies it contested, it won only three. This disappointing electoral performance was a major blow to the party. In the recent Assembly bypolls, the AAP won three constituencies — Gidderbaha, Dera Baba Nanak, and Chabbewal, but it failed to retain its stronghold seat of Barnala in Sangrur, which is the home district of Mr. Mann.
As the AAP is close to completing three years in power in Punjab, its leaders have gone to Delhi to project the party’s achievements. AAP leaders have boasted in Delhi about giving 300 units of free electricity per month to households, establishing Aam Aadmi Mohalla Clinics, providing nearly 50,000 jobs, ensuring transparency in the functioning of the government, working towards reducing road accident fatalities in 2024 by deploying the Sadak Suraksha Force, who provide immediate first aid, among other achievements in Punjab.
However, this is a gamble. The Opposition parties — the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress — are cornering the AAP in Delhi over its “failures” and unfulfilled promises in Punjab. Not just parties, but also a section of government employees and pensioners from Punjab as well as farmers have been accusing the AAP of abandoning its pre-poll promises.
In the course of campaigning for the 2022 Punjab Assembly elections, AAP leaders, including Mr. Mann, had publicly favoured the procurement of 22 crops at the minimum support price (MSP) and assured government purchase after coming to power. However, they later took a U-turn. The AAP had also promised to provide financial assistance of ₹1,000 to all women aged 18 years and above, which remains unfulfilled. It had also pledged to wipe out the drug menace from Punjab within four months of government formation; this continues to be a distant dream.
Apart from this, the AAP seized power in Punjab riding on an anti-corruption plank. But it appears to be on the defensive now on the same issue, as many of its leaders are facing a barrage of corruption charges.
Several government employees and pensioners are also annoyed with the AAP for not fulfilling its pre-poll promise of restoring the Old Pension Scheme. They have said that they will mobilise people so that the AAP is not voted back to power in Delhi.
After coming to power in Punjab, the party has, on the basis of its governance model, sought votes during Assembly elections in States such as Gujarat, Goa, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Rajasthan, but its electoral performance in all these States has been poor. In Delhi, there is a sense that the electoral benefits could be limited as Delhi mostly comprises urban constituencies in comparison to Punjab, which is an agrarian State with largely rural constituencies.
Even as the Delhi Assembly elections have occupied centre stage, the mayoral elections in the Union Territory of Chandigarh are slated to held on January 30. The Congress and the AAP are contesting jointly against the BJP. This is unlike in Delhi, where the Congress and AAP are fighting the polls separately. This may give political ammunition to the BJP, which has also joined hands with the Lok Janshakti Party and the Janata Dal (United), to target both the Congress and the AAP in Delhi.
Over the years, the AAP claims it is different from the “traditional parties” and has time and again sought a chance to form the government in States by playing this card. However, now the party, which is in power in two States, will be assessed on its performance. The Delhi Assembly elections are a crucial test for the AAP, which has been fighting several setbacks in the national capital. The implications of these election results would surely be seen in Punjab as well, whether the party wins or losses.
